Just imagine you are surrounded by the enemy, and they have no idea you’re there. You’ve picked out your first target, but now you have to take him out without alerting the others to your presence. It has to be a quick, clean, silent maneuver. The larynx! In order to ensure that your target won’t utter a sound administer a quick, fierce blow to the throat. Now you’re ready to disable him in other, more fun ways. Please continue the incapacitation lesson, Mr. Holmes!
The legendary detective Sherlock Holmes is brought to life on the big screen by Robert Downey, Jr., in the film Sherlock Holmes, and let me start by saying that Downey is downright phenomenal. Downey knows how to deliver his witty lines with just the right amount of speed and character to let you discover the funny and slightly crazy side of Sherlock Holmes. His partner in crime solving is the very smart, more practical, and a little less crazy Dr. Watson portrayed by Jude Law. These guys are an incredible team, they work together magnificently well and have a great chemistry on screen. Well done, fellas! And Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) gives us a strong bad girl heroine, a romantic interest for Holmes who’s the only person to have ever beaten him (“Twice!”) – straight out of the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories.
The story this time around is that Holmes is trying to get to the bottom of some mysterious happenings and murders involving Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) and his cult of looney gooneys. There isn’t an overabundance of action to the film, but there’s enough to keep action hungry movie fans such as myself happy. It’s well paced to keep you entertained throughout the film without distracting from the story.
Sherlock Holmes is well worth the money to see it in theater. It is very funny, entertaining, and Law and Downey make for a great team. The story also isn’t one that you can figure out right at the beginning. I really didn’t know what was going on or how it would all turn out, and that was very refreshing. Sherlock Holmes is an all around excellent film, and a must-see.
Time Until Action Starts: ~ instantaneously.
Baddies: Lord Blackwood and his cult!
Best Line: “If the rest of his family is dead, how long do you expect to survive? Food for thought!”
Best Kill Spoiler Alert: Some guy decides that he isn’t going to join Lord Blackwell’s cult. BIG MISTAKE! He thinks he is going to win this battle with a gun. As he pulls the trigger, he bursts into flames. What just happened? I don’t know. You will have to watch the film but this guy freaks out and starts running around while on fire. STOP, DROP, AND ROLL, stupid! What? Did you play hooky the day they taught that in school? Well, after the initial explosion you see a flaming guy running all over the screen and then he jumps/falls out a window. Now that’s a thorough job. If the fire didn’t kill him, the fall did. Oh yeah, the double tap! No surprise return for this guy!
Best Explosion: It’s a trap! There is an alley lined with exploding barrels unbeknownst to the person walking through it. He trips the wire and has just enough time to poop his pants before the explosions start. One barrel after another explodes all the way down the walkway.
Action Rating: 3 Comatose Bulldogs, out of 5.
Illustration by Alex Langley. Rocket Llama World Headquarters.
This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
Related posts:
Sherlock Holmes (2009) – Not Your Father’s World’s Greatest Detective (Movie Chicks on Action Flicks)
Coming Attraction: Sherlock Holmes (2009) Trailer
First comment goes to Rick Swift – boo yaa! I freakin’ LOVED this film, and it made me watch a few Rathbone Holmes flicks on TCM this weekend.
I was afraid it was going to have too much action and be corny, but like AFC says, it was a perfect balance! Check it out for a fun ride.
shortened url = http://3.ly/ShHo or http://3.ly/Sherlock
I thought it was good but not great. Some of Downy’s dialogue was missed b/c of his mumbling fast talking accent. And I felt there were slow parts. I saw it with a group that ranged in age from 16 to 42 and all of us thought it was around a 2.8 out of 4.
This was filmed in Liverpool, just down the road from where I work!
Thought it was a great film with Downey Jnr’s take on Holmes taking a different route from virtually every other, but in tune with the source material where Holmes is described as having a bohemian soul for instance.
Intrigued to see where they go with Moriarty, whether he becomes the big bad in the sequel or remains in the shadows